All for one, and one for all?

By Roee Ruttenberg October 18, 2011 | Edit

Most of us will never be privy to the behind-closed-doors discussions and negotiations that took place indirectly between Israeli and Hamas officials. Why one Palestinian prisoner was included on the list while another one was left off is, according to Israeli security officials, a matter of strategic consideration.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu insists that this is the best deal Israel could have gotten. But for the families of those killed by the very prisoners being released (or their accomplices), each name left on or left off is of great concern.

Writing in Haaretz, Bradley Burston notes:

In Israel’s nine prisoner exchanges with Arab enemies, dating back to the first, 54 years ago, Israel has freed 13,509 prisoners in order to win the release of a total of 16 soldiers. An average of well over 800 for each one. This is the price.

Heading into the evening on Tuesday, there are celebrations in northern Israel outside the home of Gilad Shalit, with Israeli flags waving. No doubt this is a joyous day for the people of this country. But it is clearly bittersweet, and many have asked — and will continue to ask — was the price too high?

So I wanted to pose this question to our loyal +972 readers. Please do share your thoughts.

Roee Ruttenberg is a freelance journalist, producer, and television news correspondent. He has worked for ABC News, CCTV (Chinese Television) News, Al Jazeera English and ZDF German Television, as well as several other international news outlets. His writings have been published in Ha’aretz and The Jerusalem Post. He divides his time between Israel and the United States.

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